Thomas Mainardi, an artist with determination
Welcome to another episode of the Galerie Charron’s “artist portrait”, which decodes the work of young and established contemporary artists.
Today we share with you the story of Thomas Mainardi, “an artist who has built his artistic career with determination” and who is exhibiting his paintings at the Charron gallery from 10 March to 21 April.
Thomas Mainardi was born in June 1984 in the French city of Lille. As a child, he already liked to draw. Curious by nature, as he grew up, he tried his hand at different disciplines: painting, comics, stained glass painting, sculpture, models and finally graffiti.
Despite his consuming passion for the plastic arts, Thomas took a different direction.
He could have studied Fine Arts but he preferred to study communication at ISCOM Lille and Paris between 2003 and 2007. When he finished his studies, he got a job in an advertising agency which he finally decided to leave 2 years later to create his own agency with two other partners.
And what about his passion for painting ?
During all these years, Thomas has not stopped working on his painting in a frenetic and even obsessive way in quest of his own style and in 2009 he lands his first exhibition at the Orsel gallery in Montmartre.
This event was to be a real turning point in his life choice.
He then decided to sell his shares as a partner in the advertising agency and to invest himself fully in a career as an artist.
He decided to do everything in his power to make it his main profession and his source of income. Despite the obstacles of an artist’s early life, this daily challenge allows him to move forward with energy and determination.
Over the years, he has held numerous exhibitions, mainly in China, Italy and France, in galleries, contemporary art fairs, cultural centres and museums, including
- Tianjin Museum,
- Hainan Museum,
- the Shanghai World Expo,
- the Beijing Senate,
- the Contea del Caravaggio Art Museum in Sicily,
- Molitor, or
- the Dali Museum in Paris…
In addition to these exhibitions, he has received numerous distinctions and awards, such as
- the Golden Eagle of Nice for the Young Artist and the Public Prize in 2009,
- the “25th Chelsea International Fine Art Competition” in 2010,
- Laureate and Guest of Honour at the Salon Arbustes and Guest of the Salon d’Automne des Champs Élysées in 2013,
- Finalist in the Bic Fire on Design Competition in 2014,
- Winner of the “Follow the Black Rabbit” competition in 2015,
- Winner of the Salon Art & Passion and of the International Biennial “Regards croisés” in 2019,
- and the Médaille de Vermeil Arts Sciences et Lettres in 2020…
Thomas Mainardi’s inspirations are plural and can be broken down as follows:
– Pop Art for its graphic side and the vivacity of its colours.
– Art nouveau for its poetry, its symbolic, dreamlike and allegorical richness.
– Urban Art for its techniques and the multiplicity of its supports and styles.
– Abstract expressionism for the freedom and variety of its expression.
In his pictorial compositions, Thomas mixes bright colours and materials: paint, ink, pigments, Posca to give a recognisable impasto and dilution of materials to the artist’s canvases.
At first glance, Thomas Mainardi’s paintings are resolutely graphic, imbued with poetry, mystery, a certain melancholy, but also with great strength and hope in these characters and in the subjects treated.
He applies his sense of aesthetics to complex subjects linked to deviance and human qualities. Emotions intertwined with symbolic messages: the erosion of feelings, the strength and transience of memories, the fragility of life, power, money, egocentricity, beauty, seduction, love, Nature, the drama of human imperfections.
In summary, it is the challenges of contemporary society that guide Thomas Mainardi’s work. He depicts the richness and variety of human identity in different societies around the world.
See you soon for more artist portraits…
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